Six Flags theme park rides shut down by nearby fire

A small fire in a park near Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo forced the closure of one of the amusement park’s rides Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Firefighters responded to a vegetation fire that broke out in Dan Foley Park on the south side of Lake Chabot just after 2 p.m. Crews struck a second alarm 20 minutes later when the fire briefly threatened a few homes on a nearby hillside, but the blaze was contained within about 30 minutes, said Vallejo Fire Capt. John Ha.

Vallejo Fire Department spokesman William Tweedy tweeted out this photo of smoke rising from the brush, noting that the fire broke out near a possible homeless encampment.

The fire in the park, which sits directly across the lake from Six Flags, may have caused an additional fire at the Thrilla Gorilla ride, where employees found burning embers on the roof of one of the buildings.

That small blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters, but the ride will remain closed while it is inspected and deemed safe to operate, according to park spokeswoman Nancy Chan.